Yellow Eyes
by CatC10
Summary: A simple oneshot in Sokka's POV overveiwing Iroh and Zuko's enterance into the Avatar group. SokkaxZuko.


Alright, so I'm going to be a weirdo and actually start a new fiction until I can, you know, continue progress on the rest of them. I'm feeling like Avatar, today, really.

* * *

Sokka didn't really know what to think, now that Zuko and Iroh had joined their happily traveling troupe. Toph had just shown Aang how to do a new earth bending technique, sliding, which moved the opponent's feet below them to throw them off balance or move them out of the way, when they had shown up. Sokka remembered this technique as the one she'd used to move him when she had her brief hissy fit and stormed away from camp.

Glancing at Iroh's bandaged shoulder Sokka remembered the events that followed that fit, in which he had found himself in line with the fire nation prince, now seated about half of Appa's length to his left, facing the fire they had both been put in charge of keeping lit and cooking with safely.

Sokka didn't know if Zuko really knew how amazing that line had been; when everyone in their camp currently had faced off against the prince's insane sister, like four elements combined. Just as he didn't know if Zuko realized (or cared to realize) how awkward Sokka felt a week and a half later when just as he had been reminiscing that moment again for the third time that day and the prince and his uncle had stumbled onto their camp.

Zuko had been ready to attack the group in a second.

And Iroh had stopped him with the wave of a hand and instead made with greeting them kindly, and asking after Toph's well being. Sokka remembered with chilling clarity the expression of disbelief on Zuko's face as his uncle proposed tea to the Avatar and his water and earth companions. Zuko's mouth hung slack in profile, noble nose angled downwards, bright yellow eyes not wide, but his one good eyebrow climbing toward his new hairline at an astonishing rate. "What?" he had asked his uncle. Sokka's legs had begun to burn by the end of the family's small argument about ending hostilities between the groups, and only when he looked down had Sokka realized that he'd been standing in a half-crouch ever since the pair had shown up.

The fire in front of him snapped a little too close, and Sokka snapped awake from his reverie. Just in time, apparently, as a few moments later Zuko roughly shoved his shoulder. "Food," the fire prince stated grimly, and with a groan Sokka stood.

Rolling his shoulders, Sokka quickly gathered his tools of trade and stepped into the dense forestry with Zuko.

Sokka initially made fun of Zuko because the prince couldn't for his life catch prey. Zuko would parry back that of course he didn't, because he was royalty and that meant that other people would catch it for him. Sokka still made fun of him, however, pointing out that royal blood was no excuse for not knowing how to take care of oneself, and set about to teach what he knew to the fire bender.

Zuko resented him for it, he knew, because Zuko gave him the most horrible looks for it. For some reason, it didn't bother Sokka. He simply kept to calmly explaining the logic behind every trap and technique, and the uses and flavor of each plant until Zuko had no fault with which to harbor his distaste of the water tribesman. Sokka always had been a logical genius, if you could bypass his sarcasm and pessimist vantage.

Zuko had been about a hair's breath away from burning Sokka alive for his serene explanations a few times, but never closer. The few times it happened, the young fire bender rose from their hiding place in the brush and would storm away in a huff lighting some of the unfortunate overhead branches a flame, only to return perhaps an hour later. Sokka figured nearly a month of being excluded from the others as Katara, Toph, and Iroh taught Aang to master all the elements, had brought them closer by default.

When the day came that Sokka realized that they had neither spoken nor spoken to any of their traveling companions save each other in three days, he knew that it had.

* * *

Sokka was arranging their newest landing sight when it happened. He'd been minding his own business, just arranging and rearranging the bed rolls in small pyramids to pass time, happy that fishing had gone so well the night before, what with Aang's training involving pulling fish from the river and the regular haul that Sokka and Zuko managed to wrangle while Iroh flash fried what they wouldn't be eating that night, that no hunting was required from he and Zuko that particular day, when Zuko interrupted him.

"What is it?" asked Sokka, glancing up with a smile, such was his good mood. "We don't have to go hunting today, you know." Zuko stared stiffly down at the water tribe boy.

"I want to try something," said Zuko, meeting Sokka's eyes and holding them. Sokka took a moment to try and fathom what idea Zuko had been entertaining that would prompt the fire bender to inform him rather than just do so that the group would only find out after the fact, and probably been able to talk him out of. Curiosity peaked; Sokka placed the last two bed rolls in the small pile and stood, reaching out one hand to lean against Appa's great bulk behind him.

"Shoot," said Sokka, turning to look at Aang, Katara, Toph, and Iroh training across their grassy clearing, a stream behind them by about ten yards that was supplying their water, he couldn't keep his eyes locked with the eerie yellow eyes of Zuko for very long. It had to do, he thought, with the legends of the Southern Water Tribe that told of yellow eyed demons.

Sokka felt Zuko's warmer than average hand pull on the arm he was using to support himself on Appa, his eyes widened a fraction as his back fell onto the great beast and Sokka found himself locking eyes with Zuko again, only much closer than he had been before.

'Oh wow…' Thought Sokka when Zuko's head dipped down, catching Sokka between thoughts, 'He is really is warm.' Zuko contrary to his personality, kissed much more compassionately than he spoke. Zuko's head tilted toward the right, and he not so much devoured Sokka's mouth as took breath from Sokka's very being. Totally lost in the kiss, Sokka only took the barest of notice when Zuko stepped over the bedrolls to press the full lengths of their bodies together, one hand cradling the back of Sokka's head to maneuver it to the best angles, and the other slipping down his side to grip at Sokka's slender hip.

When Zuko at last pulled back, it was only from the waist up, and his yellow eyes locked with Sokka's blue for the third time. Sokka, abashed, turned his face down and to one side, a madly red stain blooming across his cheeks. "I, er, wasn't expecting…perhaps! Uh…"

"Thank you," said Zuko calmly, and the blushing Sokka looked up once more.

"Huh?" He asked, dumbstruck.

"Thank you for not attempting to knock me unconscious." Zuko's head turned and he looked over at the group in the clearing, and Sokka could feel the color draining from his face and his stomach flipping in a most uncomfortable flip. Stiffly, and in humorous jerks, his own head turned to follow Zuko's hard stare.

Though Appa's fur cut out some of the clearing, all four other benders were visible, STILL TRAINING and taking no notice of the two teenaged boys.

Sokka took several seconds to breathe a generously sized sigh of relief, and then his eyes shifted once more to Zuko. Seeing that Zuko was still staring off towards the others, a conclusion materialized for the prince's reason for kissing the tribesman.

"Oh! So you're checking to see if their paying attention to us, right? I could have told you that they weren't, you know. Aang has a limited time to master all the elements, so they don't want to waste a—"

"Good." Zuko interrupted, smirking. Zuko stared at Sokka once more with his creepy, alluring, yellow eyes, and the smirk turned feral. The fire that made up the prince's passionate soul began to flicker in the behind those eyes, "Very good."

Sokka's eyebrows furrowed in question before the prince's body descended upon his own once more, and coherent thought became very difficult indeed.

* * *

HA! ONE SHOT FOR THE KITTY!

ME


End file.
